Sharon Yeshaya Sells 15,838 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 15,838 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.77, for a total transaction of $2,942,225.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 135,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,135,424.08. This trade represents a 10.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $179.02 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.33 and a 12-month high of $192.68. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $176.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $161.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $284.52 billion, a PE ratio of 17.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.69 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.22 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.18%.

Key Morgan Stanley News

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley was named one of the lead banks on the highly visible SpaceX IPO, which should generate sizable investment‑banking fees and boost confidence in MS’s deal pipeline. Elon Musk’s SpaceX lines up 4 banks for blockbuster IPO
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 fundamentals remain supportive — MS recently beat on EPS and revenue, announced a $1.00 quarterly dividend (ex‑div Jan 30), and has strong ROE metrics cited by analysts; those fundamentals underpin longer‑term investor support. Morgan Stanley stock page / Q4 results & dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Wealth Management staff publicly urged clients not to panic‑sell, messaging designed to stabilize flows and sentiment among retail/wealth clients. That communication can help limit outflows and calm short‑term volatility. ‘Don’t Get Off the Rodeo Bull’: Morgan Stanley Warns Investors Not to Panic Sell
• Neutral Sentiment: Research action from MS — the firm cut Oracle’s target ~30% citing AI infra concerns. This is a research call on a large tech name (shows MS positioning/opinion) but is not a direct company fundamental change for MS itself. Oracle target cut by Morgan Stanley
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple senior Morgan Stanley insiders filed Form 4s this week (large sales by executives including Michael Pizzi, Andrew Saperstein, Eric Grossman, Sharon Yeshaya and others). Concentrated insider selling can add short‑term supply and raise investor caution. Insider sale SEC filing (example)

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Powers Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Central Bank & Trust Co. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Howard Financial Services LTD. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 3,579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $635,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 3,181 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $565,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 3,915 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $695,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MS. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $211.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, HSBC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.93.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company’s chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm’s primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.